If soldiers pillage a place, they steal a lot of things and damage it using violent methods.

Something that is pristine has not lost any of its original perfection or purity.

When someone is prostrate, he is lying face down, usually as a means of worship or adoration of some kind.

When you ravage something you completely destroy, wreck, or damage it.

When you are reverent you show a great deal of respect, admiration, or even awe for someone or something.

If something is reviled, it is intensely hated and criticized.

A sacrilegious act is one of deep disrespect that violates something that is sacred or holy.

To taint is to give an undesirable quality which damages a person’s reputation or otherwise spoils something.

When you trammel something or someone you bring about limits to freedom or hinder movements or activities in some fashion.

Something that is unalloyed is whole or complete; for example, unalloyed pain cannot be relieved.

To come out of something unscathed is to come out of it uninjured.

Something that is unsullied is unstained and clean.

Venerable people command respect because they are old and wise.

If you vilify people, you write or say bad things about them to make them unpopular.

If something is vitiated, it has been made less effective, weakened, or reduced in quality.

Vituperative remarks are full of hate, anger, and cruel criticism.

You need to enable Javascript to get the best out of this site. Please :-).

Verb

desecrate

DES-i-krayt

Context

For centuries, robbers have looted and desecrated the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs. Even during the early part of the twentieth century, archaeologists destroyed, spoiled, and desecrated grave sites in the name of science. In the twenty-first century, we have come to believe that burial sites are to be treated with respect and should not be desecrated or violated. Digging into them, whether for treasure or for information, is a kind of desecration or abuse not to be taken lightly.

Memory Hook

Dessert Crate Don't you dare desecrate that dessert crate by leaving it out in the sun, because it's mine, all mine!

Examples

French Culture Minister Christine Albanel, reacting to Sunday’s incident, pledged to seek improved security in museums and stronger sanctions against those who desecrate art.
—USA Today

There is a different reality at the mosque where Ahmadinejad voted, in front of which, during his 2005 presidential victory, large American and Israeli flags were painted onto the street for motorists to desecrate by driving over.
—The Christian Science Monitor

Proposals to amend the Constitution by allowing both the Federal and state governments to prosecute those who physically desecrate the flag have been introduced in both the House and the Senate.
—The New York Times

The narrowly worded legislation would have made it a crime to desecrate the flag under certain circumstances, such as when trying to incite violence.
—USA Today

Word Ingredients

To desecrate something is to take it “from” a “holy state” to one that is “off” of being “sacred.”

Word Theater

Batman Desecrating priceless art.

The panel shows a small video clip of either the word in actual use or a scene that represents the meaning of a word. This not only breaks up the monotony of studying words but also provides another avenue to strengthen word meaning. Enjoy!

Word Constellation

Click for an interactive map of this word

Related Words

abominate ·

adulterate ·

besmirch ·

blight ·

defile ·

deleterious ·

denigrate ·

malevolent ·

malfeasance ·

pillage ·

ravage+ ·

revile ·

sacrilegious+ ·

taint ·

trammel ·

vilify ·

vitiate ·

vituperative ·

absolve ·

canonize ·

deify ·

esteem+ ·

eulogy ·

extol ·

homage+ ·

immaculate+ ·

innocuous ·

libation+ ·

lionize ·

liturgy+ ·

piety+ ·

pristine ·

prostrate+ ·

reverent+ ·

unalloyed ·

unscathed ·

unsullied ·

venerable ·

Similar sense

Opposite sense

Word Variants

desecration
n

→

the act of violating something holy

The section lists important variants and alternate definitions of the headword. Knowing variants will often help you both remember and understand the word. Not all variants are listed - only the ones we think that are important for you to know.